Greg Jennings: Packers “brainwashing” versus the facts

We are guilty as charged. For years now we have been brainwashed into believing the Green Bay Packers are far superior to their NFC North rivals. Lets look at the last 21 NFL seasons. In 336 regular season games, the Packers have won 214 times, while the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears have 184 and 161 wins, respectively.

In those 21 years the Packers have made 15 NFC playoff appearances, while the Vikings appeared in the postseason on 12 occasions and the Bears five.

And in the last generation the Packers have played in three Super Bowls, winning twice, while the Bears have played for the championship once. Meanwhile, the Vikings are working on 37 years and counting without a conference championship. I would include the Detroit Lions, but all one needs to know is that they have lost in the state of Wisconsin in each of those last 21 seasons.

How dare people continue to drink the Kool-Aid and remain “brainwashed,” in the words of controversial wide receiver Greg Jennings, into believing that the other three teams in the NFC North are ‘tiers below’ the Packers.

Maybe we shouldn’t let facts and the scoreboard get in the way of rational thinking. Then again, if my life were so sheltered that my only source was KFAN, Greg Jennings, and the Vikings radio play-by-play man, I would also be convinced that the Green Bay Packers have become the evil empire.

It is also interesting that Lambeau Field has been sold out for decades while the Vikings struggle to sell tickets to the point that one of this year’s home games has been outsourced to London, England.

Greg Jennings’ choice of verb in his latest volley towards his former organization is indeed interesting.

The buzzword McCarthy used in a press conference (where he didn’t even wait for a reporter to ask about Jennings latest barb) was culture.

When an organization averages 10 wins per year over a 21-year period, it is safe to say the culture around 1265 Lombardi Avenue is positive.

That is over a 336-game span. Think of a Major League Baseball team winning 100-plus games for two consecutive seasons. That is what the Packers have done over two decades. No wonder the players and coaches that have come through Green Bay come to believe that their team is “the best,” as Jennings would say.

So Packers players continue to be “brainwashed” – I’m trying to figure what the problem with that is supposed to be?

As I speak, brainwashing continues in all 32 NFL camps. There are coaches and players convincing (the more accurate term) themselves that they are every bit as good or better than the competition.

A reporter can grab a microphone and head into the Jacksonville Jaguars or Cleveland Browns locker room and find players who truly believe their team can contend. It’s a mandatory part of the job description for any player or coach in the NFL.

The same thing goes on in college football and every level of the sport on down, and in any profession. The best culture comes from the belief that your corporation is better than the one across the street. That is called competition.

Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier is busy instilling a winning culture in his organization, and has already told Jennings to shut up.

The Packers remaining a perennial contender in the NFL is a fact backed by statistics. Just like Aaron Rodgers remains one of pro football’s elite quarterbacks and Adrian Peterson is the best running back.

Jennings should be reminded there are still four weekends before the start of the regular season, and there are 30 other teams in the NFL.

One gets the feeling that Jennings’ continued “look at me” attitude will eventually come back to bite him.